Three books on transitional justice

November 9th, 2008 • Books, Conflict, Law
Tags: Books, ICL, icty, reading, scsl, transitional justice, TRC, trials, tribunals

Posting is slowing down as exams and assignment dates approach, however I am in the middle of researching a ‘research proposal’ assignment for Quantitative Social Research and have come across a few interesting books that look to be interesting and worthwhile reads – from my meagre keyword-directed reading.

Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law by Mark A. Drumbl (2007)

This book looks at punishment regimes in international criminal tribunals. Reviewing current sentencing practices and comparing that to goals of international tribunals. He argues for a new way of thinking about sentencing at the international level, that these crimes aren’t the result of individual deviancy, necessarily, but rather conformist behaviour.

I’ve only flipped through, but his discussion about the purpose of punishment on an international and local level was quite interesting, as was his evaluation of current practice.

Transitional Justice in the Twenty-First Century Edited by Naomi Roht-Arriaza and Javier Mariezcurrena (2006)

This is a collection of edited chapters in two parts. The first part is titled “Truth, justice and multiple institutions” and each article looks at a separate institutional response to conflict – covering Sierra Leone, Pru, Colombia and Timor Leste. Contributions come from people who actually worked in the field at institutions such as the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission and academics working in the field. Part two is titled “Levels of justice: Local, national and international” and compares the more local to the international responses. For example, gacaca in Rwanda versus the ICTR, the work done in Argentina and an examination of Iraq.

I had a look at the discussion of Timor Leste and the outreach work done by the Court in Sierra Leone, and both chapters were very informative and easy to read.

Closing the Books: Transitional Justice in Historical Perspective by Jon Elster (2004)

Here’s a good theoretical look at transitional justice. The book is in two parts, first a history lesson from 5th century BC Athens to the present. Briefly going over some historical experiences of transition. The second part analyses transition, purporting to explain why certain situations give rise to certain institutional responses.

An interesting look at explaining what shapes the responses countries adopt following conflict – why South Africa picked a TRC, while Rwanda asked for an international tribunal. Why some conflicts give rise to amnesties while others result in hundreds of thousands in jail.

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